Before Harry Kane.. Bayern Munich Planned to Sign Mbappe and Haaland

Hasan Salihamidzic, the former sporting director of Bayern Munich, revealed intriguing behind-the-scenes details regarding the German club's attempts to sign some of the world's biggest football stars, including Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, during the search for a successor to Polish star Robert Lewandowski.

Hamidic's statements came in an interview with "SPORT1" network, following Bayern Munich's victory in the German Cup after their impressive 3-0 win over Stuttgart. In the match, English star Harry Kane shone by scoring another hat-trick, continuing his exceptional season with the Bavarian giants.

Kane has become one of the team's standout stars since joining the club, after Bayern Munich broke its historical habit in the transfer market and paid 100 million euros to seal the deal, a move that quickly proved successful on the field.

Hamidic spoke about the initial move to sign a new striker following Lewandowski's imminent departure, saying: "When it became clear that Lewandowski would leave, specifically between October and November 2021, we started thinking about a player capable of replacing him."

He added, "We indeed tried to reach out to Harry Kane, and discussions continued until the end of the season, but Tottenham closed the door early and was not ready to negotiate at that time."

The former sporting director revealed a big surprise, confirming that Bayern Munich's management also discussed the possibility of signing Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland as part of their plan to recruit a world-class striker.

He said, "Yes, there was interest in Mbappe, but the deal was completely beyond our financial limits. We also discussed Haaland's name because we knew the team needed a striker capable of deciding matches."

He continued: "At Bayern Munich, you must always have a top-tier striker, like Giovanni Elber in the past, then Lewandowski, and now Harry Kane. However, such deals require great caution due to their enormous cost."

Hamidic pointed out that Harry Kane remained the club management's top target all along, stating: "From the beginning, it was clear to us that Kane was the number one choice. After Thomas Tuchel's arrival in March, we met a few weeks later and fully agreed that signing him was an absolute priority."

He also revealed details of the meeting that brought together Bayern Munich's management with the player's family in London, saying: "We went to London that same week and met with his family. He has a wonderful family, and his father and brother are very respectable people. The discussions were very positive, and then others continued working on the deal."

He concluded by emphasizing the difficulty of convincing the England captain to leave Tottenham, adding: "It wasn't easy to persuade Harry Kane to leave London, but Bayern Munich has a significant stature, and in the end, we succeeded in completing the deal."